Last verified: October 20, 2026. I’m a Texas home baker, not a lawyer — laws change, so always confirm with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) before you sell.

Cottage Food Laws by State

MINNESOTA COTTAGE FOOD AT A GLANCE

Annual sales cap: $78,000 gross receipts per calendar year (gross sales, not profit)

License or permit: No food license required — but annual MDA Cottage Food Producer Registration is required for everyone, before you sell. Tier 1 (gross sales of $7,665 or less) registers free; Tier 2 (gross sales of $7,666–$78,000) pays a $50 annual registration fee

Kitchen inspection: Not required to register — this is a registration, not a license, and there is no routine home kitchen inspection. MDA inspectors may check your registration at markets and events, and MDA may inspect where food was made if a complaint or illness is reported

Food handler course: Required for everyone, by tier — Tier 1: free MDA online training and exam, completed every year before registering or renewing. Tier 2: an approved safe food handling course (offered through University of Minnesota Extension, online or in person, for a fee), completed once every three years

Shipping: Not allowed for food for people — you (or your employee) must hand the food to the customer in person. Only cottage pet treats may be shipped by mail or commercial delivery. Note: shipping within Minnesota becomes allowed August 1, 2027

Wholesale: Not permitted — every sale must be direct to the consumer; cottage foods cannot be resold

WHY MINNESOTA WORKS FOR HOME BAKERS (WITH A FEW EXTRA STEPS)

Minnesota’s Cottage Food Law (Minn. Stat. § 28A.152) has let home bakers sell without a food license since 2015, and the $78,000 cap is generous. Minnesota does ask for more up front than states like Florida: everybody registers with the MDA every year, and everybody completes food safety training — free and online if you’re starting small in Tier 1. In return you get a clear, written set of rules, a registration number you can put on your labels instead of your home address, and a system your farmers market managers already know. One heads-up: changes passed in 2025 take effect August 1, 2027 — one registration tier for everyone, a $30 yearly fee for all, advanced training for all, and shipping allowed within Minnesota. The rules below are the ones in effect now, in October 2026.

WHAT YOU CAN (AND CAN’T) SELL

Allowed: Non-potentially hazardous foods — foods that do not need refrigeration to stay safe, with a pH of 4.6 or lower or a water activity of 0.85 or less. That includes baked goods like breads, cookies, cakes, and fruit pies; candies and confections; and certain jams and jellies. Minnesota also allows home-canned pickles, vegetables, or fruits with a pH of 4.6 or lower or a water activity of 0.85 or less, and baked or dehydrated pet treats for dogs and cats only.

Prohibited: Anything potentially hazardous that needs refrigeration to stay safe. Also out: meat and dairy products sold on their own (cheese, yogurt, butter, ghee), pickled eggs or meats, dehydrated meat or fish (jerky), charcuterie boards with meat and cheese, chocolate-covered fresh fruit, and any food with cannabinoids like THC or CBD. Butter, milk, and eggs used as ingredients inside a baked good are fine, as long as the finished food meets the water activity requirement. If it has to stay cold, it needs a food license and an approved kitchen.

MINNESOTA LABELING REQUIREMENTS

Minnesota requires these things on every cottage food label:

  1. Your full name OR your business name — your full name as the cottage food registrant, or your cottage food business name as submitted on your registration
  2. Your address OR your cottage food registration number — either one works, so you can use your registration number and keep your home address off the label
  3. The name of the product — “Chocolate Chip Cookies,” not just your brand name (required under general food labeling rules, even though it is not spelled out on MDA’s short cottage food list)
  4. The date the food was made — a dedicated line, like “Made on: [date]”
  5. Ingredients, including allergens — list the ingredients in the product, and declare the Big 9 allergens (milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, sesame), either in parentheses after the ingredient — “flour (wheat)” — or in a “Contains” statement right after the ingredient list
  6. Net weight — the net quantity of contents (required under general food labeling rules, even though it is not spelled out on MDA’s short cottage food list)
  7. This exact statement, verbatim: These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection.

Two more labeling rules Minnesota bakers miss: that same statement must also appear on a clearly legible sign or placard at your point of sale, and on your webpage if you sell online. And a QR code cannot replace any of the required label information — MDA allows a QR code only in addition to the printed label, never instead of it.

WHERE YOU CAN SELL IN MINNESOTA

Your private home (check your local ordinance first), farmers’ markets, and community events — plus online ordering through your own website or page, as long as the required statement is posted there. Here is the part that surprises people: taking the order online is fine, but the handoff must be in person. You or your employee must be physically present for the sale or delivery — the customer picks up at your home or your market booth, or you deliver it to them yourself. Food for people cannot be shipped by mail or sent through a third-party delivery service, and it cannot be left at a drop-off location. You also cannot sell from a retail store (not even a pop-up table, unless a farmers’ market or community event is being held there), and you cannot sell wholesale — no stocking your cookies in someone else’s shop for resale. Home-canned pickles, vegetables, and fruits may not be sold outside Minnesota; for other foods sold across state lines, you are responsible for following that state’s laws too. Mark your calendar: starting August 1, 2027, shipping food for people within Minnesota becomes allowed.

YOUR 3 STEPS TO START

  1. Confirm your foods qualify, then complete your tier’s training. Non-potentially hazardous only, plus home-canned pickles, vegetables, and fruits that meet the pH or water activity limits. Tier 1 (expecting $7,665 or less in gross sales): take the free MDA online training and exam. Tier 2 (expecting $7,666–$78,000): take the approved safe food handling course through University of Minnesota Extension before you register. Check your city, county, or township ordinances too — local zoning or business licensing rules can still limit selling from home.
  2. Register with the MDA — every year, before you sell. Registration is free for Tier 1 and $50 for Tier 2 (plus a $2.50 processing fee if you pay online). Registrations expire each year on March 31, so renew by April 1 to keep selling. MDA mails you a registration card with your unique registration number — keep it handy when you sell, because an inspector or market manager may ask to see it.
  3. Get your labels and signage right, and track every dollar. Seven label elements, the verbatim statement on your labels, your point-of-sale sign, and your ordering webpage — and no QR-code shortcuts. Track your gross sales from day one: your tier, your fee, and the $78,000 cap all run on gross receipts, not profit. Sell past $78,000 and you need a food license instead.

OFFICIAL MINNESOTA SOURCES

This guide is for informational purposes only and isn’t legal advice. Cottage food laws change — I last verified this page on October 20, 2026. When in doubt, ask the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

See cottage food laws for all 50 states

Just add sprinkles!